Ladies brave the elements

When all around them were seeing their facilities fail to survive the wintry elements of Friday night, Ashbourne RFC stepped into the breach and ensured that Ireland got their Women"s Six Nations Championship off to a winning start with a 7-5 victory over France. The superb all-weather pitches at Ashbourne came to the rescue when St Mary"s College RFC grounds at Templeville Road failed to survive the elements, but those in the 300-strong crowd hoping to be kept warm by a free-flowing and high-scoring game were left disappointed. There was a strong local interest in the game with former Navan stars Orla Brennan and Sinead Ryan toiling in the pack and Ashbourne native Grace Davitt, who plays her rugby with Blackrock, coming on as a second-half replacement. Remarkably at half-time it was scoreless, but when the points eventually came they were worth the wait. It may have been scarcely deserved on the balance of play, but the try that gave the visitors the lead was typical of France. Great work from their forwards inside the Ireland 22 set up the platform and from there all the backs were involved in a move which saw the ball worked from left to right before winger Cathy Langenfeld popped up on the right-hand side to go over in the corner. Crucially, full-back Caroline Ladagnous missed the conversion. Ireland did not let their heads drop and continued to play open, complete rugby. On more than one occasion, half-backs Tania Rosser and Niamh Briggs linked up well with Lynne Cantwell and team captain Joy Neville. Second-half replacements Shannon Houston and Davitt also impressed, with full-back Joanne O"Sullivan not shy about coming into the line. But it was the forwards who did all the work for the equalising score. Possession was secured from a lineout deep inside the France 22. From there the pack mauled their way through phase after phase, inching their way closer to the line. When prop Fiona Coghlan crossed the whitewash, referee David Jones took a long, hard look before awarding the try. Briggs added the conversion and Ireland suddenly led by two with just eight minutes remaining. The home side had dominated the first half in terms of territory and possession, but had absolutely nothing to show for it when it came to the score-line. France barely threatened the Irish 22 in the first 40 minutes, never mind the try-line and in reality Ireland should have been well ahead. Countless opportunities went a-begging and two penalties should have been converted. As it turned out, those missed opportunities did not come back to haunt Ireland. There were plenty of anxious moments for the girls in green and the story would have been much different had Ladagnous converted a long range penalty in the dying moments. Ireland held on to record a deserved victory in Steven Hennessy"s first competitive game in charge. Next up for Hennessy"s charges is a trip to Collefero on St Valentine"s Day to face Italy. Ireland - Joanne O"Sullivan (Richmond/Ulster), Jeannette Feighery (UL Bohemians/Munster), Lynne Cantwell (UL Bohemians/Munster), Helen Brosnan (Highfield/Munster), Amy Davis (Blackrock/Ulster), Niamh Briggs (Clonmel/Munster), Tania Rosser (Blackrock/Leinster), Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemians/Leinster), Yvonne Nolan (Blackrock/Leinster), Gillian Bourke (UL Bohemians/Munster), Caroline Mahon (UL Bohemians/Leinster), Orla Brennan (Blackrock/Leinster), Louise Austin (Blackrock/Leinster), Sinead Ryan (Blackrock/Leinster), Joy Neville (UL Bohemians/Munster) (capt). Subs - Clare Molloy (Cardiff Harlequins/Connacht) for Ryan (45 mins), Grace Davitt (Blackrock/Leinster) for Feighery (53m), Shannon Houston (Blackrock/Leinster) for Brosnan (62m), Jess Limbert (Cooke/Ulster) for Nolan (72).